Site probe under way for new Derry cityside cemetery

Derry City & Strabane District Council said the current works are to determine the suitability of the preferred site at Killea for a cemetery.

There are now 77,000 people buried in the City Cemetery, with the historic burial site, which opened in 1853, set to reach capacity within the next few years. In light of this, the Council began scoping for a new site on Derry’s west bank several years ago, and a spokesperson confirmed to the Journal yesterday that it was “progressing with plans to develop a new municipal cemetery within the wider Cityside area of Derry”.

She said: “Following an Expression of Interest exercise to landowners carried out in early 2018, Council identified a small number of sites on the west bank of the city for potential locations for a new cemetery.

“These sites were assessed in an objective criteria based exercise and a preferred site identified to the south of the city. To determine the suitability of the lands for development as a cemetery, Council is currently undertaking extensive ground investigation works and other technical studies at the preferred site, which is adjacent to an existing Council cemetery at Killea.

“The officer team have also engaged with the NI Environment Agency, Planning and a number of other statutory authorities to discuss the project.

“Based on a favourable outcome to these discussions and the ground investigation work, LPS have also been engaged in terms of determining a premium for the lands offered.”

She also confirmed that the 700 plots remaining will each accommodate a maximum of four deceased persons, while burials in existing plots in the City Cemetery “are expected to continue well into the future”.